złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma

Polish

Etymology

Rhyme, literally, “a Cossack has caught a Tatar, but the Tatar holds his head”, as the Tatars were stereotypically considered tall while the Cossacks were considered short.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzwa.paw ˈkɔ.zak ta.taˈʐɘ.na | a taˈta.ʐɘn za ˈwɛp ˈtʂɘ.ma/
• Syllabification: zła‧pał Ko‧zak Ta‧ta‧rzy‧na, a Ta‧ta‧rzyn za łeb trzy‧ma

Proverb

złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma

1. (idiomatic) someone in a conflict situation thinks they have won, but in fact it is the other party that has the upper hand

Further reading

• złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• złapał Kozak Tatarzyna, a Tatarzyn za łeb trzyma in Polish dictionaries at PWN